


Danganronpa: That Good Old Fashioned Despair

by Overlord_Mordax, VickytheSnake



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Related, Canon-Typical Violence, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Fanganronpa, Multi, Murder Mystery, Mystery, canon flavor, mentions of canonical Danganronpa 1 and 2 characters, original primary cast
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:27:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24251308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Overlord_Mordax/pseuds/Overlord_Mordax, https://archiveofourown.org/users/VickytheSnake/pseuds/VickytheSnake
Summary: Three years after the events of Danganronpa should have played out, Watanabe Yuichiro, Super High School Level Luck of Hope's Peak's 81st class, finds himself and his 15 fellow students trapped in a mysterious mountain village. Menaced by some strange mastermind masquerading behind the face of a black and white bear, will he be able to keep his classmates from submitting to Monokuma's twisted game of death or will the students break under the weight of secrets and machinations? What happened to the original 78th class of Hope's Peak and who is the mysterious masked student with amnesia who calls herself "Junko"?
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

*Tick tock*

*tick Tock*

*tick tock*

****TICK TOCK****

"you don't have to do this..."

**tick tock**

"Please, just listen to me!"

*Tick Tock*

Deep within a scattered mess of desks, broken glass and drying pink blood... a figure sits in the very center of a darkened room. His arms, each bound to the arms of a clock, slowly move in accordance to the crawl of time. As the minute hand snaps another inch forward, his arm yanks out of his socket with a loud and sickening **crack**.

"Ggghhh....I...I don't understand..."

**tick...tock...**

Opposite him sits a stuffed bear, propped in a backwards facing chair. One half of its body is a pristine white, with a sparkling little eye and a cheerful little smile-- the half other is a pitch black, interrupted by the slash of a jagged red lens, and a pale line of glittering, jagged teeth.

"Upupupupu... didja miss me? you know what time it is, right buddy?"

The man in the clock hisses through his teeth; the second hand moving past him with a rhythmic tick.

It was inching slowly but surely towards the red line of a set alarm.

"It's.... _Punishment Time!_ "

The second hand ticks past the twelve...the minute hand makes one more painful click forward....just as the hour hand snaps forward with it.

The cry of pain is muffled by the blaring of a dozen ringing alarms. A black and white bird bursts from the clock face behind him, impaling him several times with its knife-like beak.

Pink blood splatters the ground before the man, as he shudders his final breaths through blood-covered lips.

"you...won't...get....away...with this....the...they'll stop yo---"

The bird makes one final lurch, stabbing him through the back of the neck and silencing him forever.

****CUCKOO- CUCKOO****

The bear before him begins to laugh, slapping it's knee with unrestrained glee.

"With a sendoff like that, I can't WAIT to get started! Upupupu! Now if you'll excuse me....I think it's time for things to **really** begin."

* * *

# Danganronpa: That Good Old Fashioned Despair

* * *

Hope's Peak Academy.

A towering monolith of progress.

A symbol of the apex of human achievement.

It was a place for the bravest, brightest, strongest , fastest. Within the brick and mortar of it's sprawling campus, the best of the best worked to hone their talents to a razor's edge.

Those who graduated from such an illustrious school were guaranteed a job in the upper echelons of society. Fame, fortune and great, world changing works of art and science were all created by the students of Hope's Peak. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that a school like this was the home of **humanity's greatest hope for a better future**.

People who attend Hope’s Peak....change the world forever.

A young man stood at the gates of the school, staring up at the imposing clocktower beyond the curled iron. He wasn’t alone....his big brother stood beside him.

His brother;.a tall, warm featured young man with long black hair tied in a loose bun and small round glasses, glanced over at him with a half smile. His features were obscured by the light of the sun behind him, blocking out all but his silhouette.

"it's your big day, little brother."

"Heh.... guess so..." Yuichiro sounded uncertain as he replied. Though nearly as tall and quite a bit more gawky than his brother, he felt dwarfed in front of the building, by its reputation, alone.

Hirotaka already bore the emblem of Hope's Peak on his jacket. As the Super High School Level Physicist, he had already made their family proud with his achievements within the school before them. He stuck his hand in his pocket, looking up at the clocktower with a thin smile.

"I know you're probably a little nervous. But don't worry. You got all the time in the world to make friends and hone whatever talent you set your eyes on."

Yuichiro gazed up at the tower with him. "I just hope I really deserve to be here, you know?"

His brother shrugged his shoulders and started walking down the path to the school's front door. "Just work hard, little brother. With a little luck and determination, you'll show them all exactly why you **do** deserve to be here. Now come on, we're going to be late."

He flushed, following in his brother's footsteps. "Being late the first day would be an awful impression," he admitted.

His footfalls clicked on the flagstones of the school's walkway, as his brother's laugh wavered in the air before him. "Heaven forbid we be tardy."

For some reason, the further he walked, the brighter the colors around him seemed to grow. It wasn't long before his vision started to swim.

But still, his brother walked ahead of him, seemingly unbothered....seeming to drift further and further away as Yuichiro felt himself stumble.

"Nnnn... huh?" Yuichiro felt himself trip, looking around in a daze.

The world had started to fade around him....the edges of his vision blooming into light then fading into darkness as the whole school swam like a melting oil painting around him.

The only thing clear in his vision was his brother....but he was starting to waver too. And he was so far away...walking...walking...

The road seemed to stretch ahead of Yuichiro, as he felt a sharp lurch forward as his center of balance failed him.

He reached out for his brother as the world faded and he fell.

As Yuichiro hit the ground, the entire world went black.

***

The first thing Yuichiro became aware of as consciousness began to return to him was the sharp smell of dirt and grass wedged right up against his face.

Somewhere in the distance, a bird called it's early morning song and a number of replies came twittering through the rustling of trees. He felt somewhat...damp...for some reason as well.

He groaned gently and tried to roll over. Had he fallen asleep in the park?

Slowly, he rolled onto his back, and found himself staring up into the thick fog of early morning. Through the heavy mist, he could see the tops of trees....a forest canopy of them, all reaching into the sky, laden with birds and leaves.

It slowly dawned on Yuichiro that this couldn't be the park. The park back by Hope's Peak was mostly fields and playground equipment, not a heavily wooded area like this.

He rubbed his eyes. That was right... he'd been headed into Hope's Peak with his brother... not catching bugs or sketching girls at the park.

He sat up as fast as he could, putting a hand to the side of his head.

"Hiro-kun?" he called. He was glad for his thick pleather jacket-- it seemed pretty cool out wherever he was.

His head swam, and a faint chemical smell played at the back of his nose. After a brief dizzy spell his eyes focused on the world around him.

He was sitting on the slope of what seemed to be… a mountain.

The area nearby was a shallow slope, surrounded by trees and ferns on every side, but he could see the cliff ahead where the mountain dropped away.

But more worrying still than the cliff itself began was the massive fence surrounding it. It was extraordinarily tall, topped in barbed wire and sparking electricity.

Below and beyond, he could see nothing but a sea of trees, a sparkling bay, and the smoking remains of what might have once been a fishing village.

Yuichiro blinked and rubbed his eyes again, as if doing so would change what was before him into a more appealing or comprehensible sight.

"Ehh... how did I get here?"

A bird flew into the fence and was swiftly electrocuted.

Not a more appealing sight at all, but all too comprehensible.

The mountain itself seemed to have no answer for him, but he did hear a crunching through the undergrowth behind.

"Poor bird...." Yuichiro bit his lip nervously at the grim view, and turned as he heard the crunching. "Hello?"

Out from behind one of the thick trunks stepped a small, frail-seeming figure.

They had a bob of pristine white hair, decorated with a pair of black bows along either side of their head. Dark purple eyes ringed in long, pale lashes met his as they stepped forward.

Yuichiro could see they were dressed in what looked to be Victorian style funeral attire. A high collared black dress was buttoned up to the neck, with laced gloves over delicate fingers. They seemed out of place in the rural mountaintop setting. Like a ghost, with how deathly pale they were.

Confused and alone, Yuichiro wasn't sure it _wasn't_ a ghost, even if it wasn't night time. He took a step back and nervously straightened his jacket collar. "Hello?"

The figure raised their gloved hand, and gave him the barest trace of a smile.

"Morning. It took you longer than the others to awaken.I was starting to think you'd died." Their voice wasn't quite as high as one would expect. It was a bit flat and middle ranged, edging on deep.

"So... I'm NOT dead then?" Yuichro asked with relief.

"I've seen enough corpses to know. They don't usually get up and talk." They paused. "Usually."

"Oh." He nodded, letting the strange addendum pass.. "Um.... where am I?"

Now fairly sure he wasn't speaking to a pretty ghost he gave the figure another look over.

They were very slight, with narrow hips and a flat chest under the bows and ribbons of the funeral dress. Their pretty face didn't show much emotion, save for the slight slyness to their smile, and the lidding of their eyes.

"The mountains, from the looks of it. Other than that your guess is as good as mine. I only… just woke up here about a half hour ago. I've seen some others, but I volunteered to go check on the ones still trapped in slumberland to see if there was anything I could do to nudge them awake."

"Oh..." he frowned and rubbed the back of his head. Others… so they weren’t alone here at least. But where was here? "So you don't know why we're here either?"

They shook their head.

"I'm afraid not. I woke up in the middle of a historical town square with no memory of how I came to find myself there." They rested their hand on their chin in thought, frowning. "...the last thing I remember was stepping through the gates of Hope's Peak."

Yuichiro blinked in surprise.

"Ehhhh…? that's the last thing I remember too." Cautiously he stepped toward them. toward them. "I'm Watanabe Yuichiro."

He offered them his hand.

They took it in a firm grip and shook it.

"Masamune Shi. Super High School Level Mortician."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we become acquainted with the next two members of our cast.

"Ohh... you're from the school too?" Yuichiro was a little surprised by the firmness of the grip and recalculated his own to match it.

_He’s kind of cute,_ Yuichiro admitted to himself. The thought wasn’t really helpful, so he put it aside.

"That's right. As far as I can tell, everyone here is." Shi’s wide, violet eyes looked him over. "Though I'll admit, I'm surprised you are. I didn't see your name or face on any of the messageboards about the incoming students."

Yuichiro rubbed the back of his neck, looking downcast at the first floor. "No? Huh, I'm not surprised they would have left me out."

"Oh? I take it you've got an unsavory talent?" Shi cocked his head to the side, inquisitively. "Super High School Level Maneater? SHSL War Criminal?"

Horror overtook his embarrassment as Yuichiro's eyes widened. "Ne? Nothing like that! It's just Luck is all!"

"Ah." He punched his gloved hand with a firm nod. "Of course. How could I forget. The lottery winner."

"Yeah...It's not exactly impressive, I know." He hung his head. It brought a pang of shame every time he thought of the pointless way he had gotten into such an amazing school.

"It means you're luckier than most." Shi shrugged his narrow shoulders. "From what I've learned in the funeral business, luck can be the difference between life and death."

"Maybe," Yuichiro agreed with a sigh. Wanting to avoid continuing the conversation he snapped back into focus. "Ehhhh... you said there were more people... should we....?"

Shi folded his hands behind his back with a nod. “Though they're likely all in a bit of a state as well. It's probably for the best that we try to gather in one place. There's a town nearby, an old one, likely a preserved historical site but it seems functional enough."

"Preserved?" he cocked his head.

"Renovated. Repaired as needed. Kept in stasis like a body soaked in formaldehyde" He said slowly, his eyes locked on Yuichiro's.

Ouch… did he really look that stupid? He rubbed his neck and glanced away. “Sorry, I know what it means. We should probably get there, ne?"

"Sorry. Didn't mean to condescend." Shi offered his hand to him with a conciliatory look. He gestured with his other hand towards a small path cutting through the woods. "Lets see if we can find anyone else still meandering about."

Yuichiro took his hand gratefully. "Wouldn't want to leave anyone behind…”

"So far I haven't seen any teachers or adults. Just...other students. As of my last count, there's around 16 of us. Some of whom were still asleep."

"Huh...so about a whole class?" Sixteenish sounded right for a Hope’s Peak classroom.

The two of them walked onto the verdant path, their feet crunching in the twigs and fresh dirt of the pathway. Hidden by a patch of leaves to the left was a Buddha statue strangely painted white and half black, holding a worn wooden sign reading "Historic Mountain Village Site: this way". Someone had added in spray paint scrawl, _"you chumps"_

Yuichiro goggled at the sight, not sure what to make of it but Shi didn't seem particularly bothered by the sign or the Buddha as they walked down the path in the direction of the village.

"Yeah. It's pretty likely to assume that we are.-- possibly-- a classroom unit. Given that we're all SHSL students just entering our first year at Hope's Peak.."

"Everybody's from Hope's Peak then? That seems... weird. And consistent too I guess." he made a face. "I wonder who defaced the sign..."

"It wasn't me. It's not exactly to my taste in aesthetics." Shi answered seriously. "Anyway It's possible that this is all some sort of entrance exam. That we were sent to the mountains to demonstrate our talents in action for some sort of placement test."

"My brother didn't mention anything like that..." Yuichiro frowned. Surely his brother wouldn't have left him completely clueless if there was something like this. Maybe it was new? "But you're probably right..."

"...your brother's a student here?" he asked curiously. "Interesting. You'd think he'd have mentioned something like this."

“Ehhh, I was just thinking that… But yeah, he’s the Super High School Level Physicist. You’ve probably heard of him. ” Everyone had heard about Hiro, as far as Yuichiro could tell.

Shi stepped out the mouth of the path and into a clearing standing beside what seemed to be a massive stone building housing....a gondola, the kind like at a ski resort for ferrying people up and down the mountain. The cable was snapped, causing it's length to hang limply from the few tethers it had left, all the way down the steep side of the mountain's face.

The gondola's arrival pad was enclosed in the building...but it didn't look like it was in the best repair either. Additionally the electric fence connected on both sides of it, but it seemed like there was a gap to let the gondola through...if it had been functional.

Yuichiro gawped at it. So much for that way down. He remembered the bird all too well. "Uh-- don't go near that fence, okay?"'

Shi glanced at it, and shook his head. "I wouldn't dream of it. A fence like that wouldn't leave a very pretty corpse. I've already given it a brief test." He glanced back at Yuichiro "Your brother...heard a bit about him, admittedly."

"He's pretty famous," he nodded. He moved toward the gap where the gondola would go through, as carefully as he could.

He passed through the half open door of the Gondola Station, and into a large bay room. The turning mechanism was hacked through, meaning that any amount of weight on the already cut wire would likely snap the thing in half and send whoever dared ride down it on a one way ticket to the underworld. As if to prove that point...both gondolas were far below the station, caught in what looked like an electrified net, from the way the sparks jumped over their metal surface.

Shi stepped into the U shaped room, and glanced down. "...." He chuckled softly after a moment. "How shocking, they cut off our main method of escape."

"wow..." Yuichiro’s gaze followed his, blinking at the sight. "What a death trap."

Shi nodded. "I'd say to use the wire to shimmy down but....with that net there and the broken turnstile, you'd be asking for death."

"Yeah..." Yuichiro sighed. "Where should we go from here? since down isn't an option, ne?"

"If we keep heading west from here, we'll reach the town. That's where most people should be heading for by now. "

Yuichiro backed out of the gondola station with a nod. "No point poking around here right now looking for easter eggs."

. "Easter eggs." Shi raised his eyebrow at him as he followed him out of the station like a pale ghost.

"ehhhh you know. Like... secrets? in a video game?" Yuichiro offered, looking around the area as he headed further down the path.

"You'd have to be pretty dedicated to hide secrets in real life, like you would in a video game." he said with a slight smirk.

As they walked down the path, there was a sudden sound to their left, as a figure came stumbling out of the woods, nearly running into Yuichiro.

"Not really, I mean it'd be just like a treasure hu--whoa!" he put his arms out to stabilize the intruder as they collided.

He found himself with his hands on a figure who was dressed in a long, military style coat with a fur hood around his shoulders.

Shaggy blue hair fell in his face, half covering his vivid golden eyes and freckled face. He stared at Yuichiro for a half-breath before he stumbled back, pulling a combat knife from the belt at his hip, and pointing it at him.

"B-back off!" he warned in a quavering voice.

Yuichiro took his hands back and stepped off. "Hey, sorry! you bumped into me!"

"You....you..." The boy shook like a leaf, panic in his eyes as he tried to swallow it down and still his hands. "You aren't part of The Enemy, are ya?" he asked nervously.

"No. And I'm not a ghost either. I already told you." Shi said, clearly having run into the figure before.

"Yeah well..s-someone drugged me and dumped me out here in the woods, and e-excuse me for suspecting the lady who shows up dressed like she's about to bury my corpse."

"Man." Shi corrected. "Despite the dress, I'm a man."

"Right," Yuichiro nodded. He'd figured that at least since the handshake, though it was nice to have the confirmation. "I'm not any enemy either, okay?"

The boy slowly lowered his knife and gave a nervous and lopsided smile.

"Sorry man. You...can't be too sure, you know?" He stuck the knife back in it's holster and offered his hand. "Nice to meet ya, buddy. Sorry about the knife, it's...you know. Reflex."

Yuichiro took his hand and shook it.

"It's okay. Uh, I'm not offended, promise. I'm Watanabe Yuichiro."

"Terauchi Hisao. Super high school level survivalist." He pointed to his chest with a broader smile. "Don't you worry, man. If we're stuck out in the middle of nowhere, I'm the guy who's gonna make sure we all get outta here alive."

"That's honestly a big relief," Yuichiro offered. "Though hopefully we'll get back to school soon."

"We'll be fine." Shi said, putting his hand on his hip. "Don't be fatalistic, Terauchi-san. It's too early to assume anyone is 'stuck' anywhere. this is the sort of thing Hope's Peak Elementary would pull all the time."

"....oh." Hisao said, running his hand through his hair. "But even if it ain't, i'm your guy." He grinned at Yuichiro. "I'm just glad you're not a couple of like,shadow agents or something."

"If we were, you wouldn't know." Shi pointed out, which only made Hisao go a little pale.

"I'm definitely not a shadow agent," Yuichiro said, shaking his head. "Too much of a clutz for them to let me in, ne?"

"I tried and they told me I brought down the mood." Shi drawled.

Yuichiro laughed at that. "Oh geez. What a way to wash out."

Shi chuckled under his breath. "Tragic. I know."

"....ha hah." Hisao huffed. "But I've seen some real spooky , legit shit in my day.” He leaned in "like...have either of you heard of Fenrir?"

Yuichiro cocked his head. "You mean the wolf that eats the moon? I read about it in some manga.”

"well...yeah." He said "but like, I mean the mercenary company named after it."

"Oh! Uh... nope." he paused and put a finger to his lips. "Ne-- wait I might have seen a web video about it..."

"They're mostly pretty quiet, but...they're the most deadly and efficient mercenary company in the world!" He waved his hands dramatically for emphasis. "Soldiers who fight purely for the joy and thrill of battle! Some say they're even hired by the **shadow government** that's helmed by the world’s elite, like that fatcat Togami and his throne of stolen riches!"

"Please....spare me the conspiracy talk. " Shi said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't we have a town square to get to?"

"Ehhh, true, we should keep walking," Yuichiro nodded starting down the path again. "So, you want to be in this wolf group?"

"well...y-yeah." Hisao said, following them along with a big grin. "Who wouldn't wanna be part of a group like that?"

"Me" Shi interjected.

"Besides you, Queen of the Night." Hisao huffed. "I heard rumors that ** **Mukuro Ikusaba** ** the SHSL Soldier was part of Fenris before the school snatched her up! But nobody's been able to like...confirm that." He fanned himself. "and damn. She's just the coolest."

"They sound pretty secretive," Yuichiro admitted. Privately he was sure he wouldn't want to be part of that kind of group either.

"Well yeah, they're uh...kind of a big deal. They don't exactly open themselves up to just anyone."

The three of them walked the path until they came to another clearing. This one was framed on both sides by what seemed to be individual servants’ housing, the sliding doors reinforced with high tech mechanical padlocks and nameplates.

The clearing continued in a row forward, flanked on both sides by 16 of these little houses.

"Huh..." Yuichiro scratched his neck as he looked over the houses. "Isn't this cozy."

Shi glanced from side to side. "...you should look at the nameplates. Those are honestly what gave me the willies the first time I saw them."

Hisao laughed "Can't imagine what'd give you the willies, ghost boy."

"Nameplates?" Yuichiro bit his lip. He offered the first guess that came to his mind. "Are they OUR names?"

Shi nodded. "There's a lot of names. But… I saw mine. and now that I know you two as well they were up there too."

Hisao went a little pale "Gggh...I don't really like that."

"Lucky guess," Yuichiro sighed.

"It's possible that this is some kind of retreat that Hope’s Peak prepares for it's incoming students." Shi pulled up his gloves with a frown, glancing off to the side.

He noticed movement by one of the houses, and hesitated. A small, slightly hunched shadow lurked near the edge of the house and they saw a pair of large glasses glint in the sunlight.

"Umm...." Yuichiro eyed the figure warily as Shi’s glance brought his attention to it.

Shi turned to face the glint of the glasses more openly with a cool stare.

"Hmmm." He gave them a little wave. "Come out of the shadows already before I think you're a kappa or something."

The shadow slunk forward into the light-- it was a girl with messy dark hair and big glasses, wearing an oversized hoodie over her school uniform.

It looked like she said something, but Yuichiro couldn't hear it.

Shi rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Please speak up."

Hisao blinked at her, before walking forward and leaning over with a grin. "Hey, I know you! you're uh..." He thought for a moment. "were you ever on the AlienZone podcast?"

The girl looked up at him, narrowing her sleepy looking eyes. "The _what_ podcast?"

"Alienzone" Hisao said with a broad grin. "You know, the world's real source for **real hard facts** about conspiracy, aliens, and corruption?"

"Oh. Sorry i don't go on podcasts for children and idiots."

Hisao's eyes widened, and he hissed a sharp breath through his teeth.

"GEEEEEZE!" He took a few steps back. "Evicerated by a fuckin' vagabond goblin!"

Shi pinched the bridge of his nose a little harder, and let out the longest , most long suffering sigh a person who knew someone for all of 5 minutes could.

"Tch." The girl sneered and looked away, crossing her arms.

"Wow uh...." Yuichiro stepped forward hoping to ease the tense situation. "Are you a Hope’s Peak student too, uh...."

She pushed up her glasses and gave him a sharp stare. "Super HIgh School Level Statistician, Ota Kusaba. Handle: SabaSaba."

"Wow, a math geek. Real useful." Hisao grinned down at her.

"Math can come in handy. But bad attitudes rarely do." Shi glanced at both Kusaba and Hisao. "Behave yourselves."

"I'm not the one who needs to be on a leash," Saba muttered.

Yuichiro rubbed his neck. This was already turning into a mess. "Gosh uh... maybe we should find the others instead of arguing."

"She started it, man!" Hisao pointed to Kusaba.

Shi grabbed Yuichiro's hand, and tugged him forward. "We should see what other personalities we can dig up. Come on."

Yuichiro followed obligingly along like a scarecrow tugged from its perch. "Uh... yeah!"

The sound of the argument faded as the two boys half jogged away from them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing with cast meetings.

"Sorry to be pushy," Shi said. "But that kind of pointless arguing in a tense situation puts me on edge."

"That's fair... they definitely seemed more into arguing than problem solving," Yuichiro admitted, a little bit frustrated himself.

"If we're actually in any trouble, which I still doubt, they'll come around soon enough, I'm sure."

Shi paused, glancing at one of the buildings. It had his name on it. With a frown and a shake of his head, he hurried past it towards the end of the row, where the little town opened up into what looked like an old market square. Shops stood shuttered on either end, signs proclaiming them as 'grocers' , 'fishmonger', 'medicine' , and 'ironworker' variously, all framing a large natural pool, which a few ducks quacked within as they paddled about.

But they weren't alone here, either.

A young man with long, silken crimson hair stood by the pond with a sharp frown visible. HIs face was half turned, and one eye was covered by an ornate gold and black eyepatch. His gloved hands were held behind him as he paced the length of the pond, and glanced up towards a shop reading 'mystic bullshit supplies' ...or at least, that's what the spray paint over whatever the original sign said.

"Ano! Hey... you there!" Yuichiro called out to them.

The young man stopped, and turned to face him with a dramatic twirl that whipped the ends of his long suitcoat up around his thighs.

He pointed at Yuichiro with a gloved finger and a shark-like grin. "Who dares address Belial, dark lord of the eternal night?"

"Keep walking." Shi whispered.

Yuichiro blinked "w-what?" he whispered back.

But it was too late.

The man sauntered forward with a sway to his hips.

Spreading his hands out to either side, he gave them a snap...somehow summoning flames between his fingers.

"You." he purred. "Little man, address the Super High School Level Occultist. Master of mystery, lord of the occult. Binder of demons and prince of the night."

"He never grew out of his... you know...eight grade syndrome phase, clearly." Shi whispered, dryly.

"Oh." Yuichiro looked the man over, wide eyed. "Ehhhhhh.....nice to meet you Occultist-sama?"

The man snuffed the fire with a wave of his hand, before erupting in a fiendish laugh, covering his lips with his palm.

"Fufufufufu! It's a pleasure. The spirits tell me that you, young man-- are the **SHSL Lucky Student.** "

"Wow, uh, well they're right!" Yuichiro grinned nervously not sure what to make of the encounter just yet, despite Shi’s misgivings. "Wonder if it was a lucky guess. My name's Watanabe Yuichiro."

"Yuichiro-kun." Belial put his hand on his hip. The man looked like you'd stuffed a serpent into a black and red suit, and then stabbed out one of its eyes. From the sharp looking teeth to the keen, hunter's eyes, he looked...dangerous.

"You may call me Belial. Belial Nakatani. I've trained across the world with the finest occultists from the west and east. I've learned to harness the darkness for my own use..."

"And can they tell us why we're here?" Shi asked.

"no,  _ walking wraith _ ," he hissed "I haven't  _ asked them _ yet.  _ obviously _ ."

"Oh gosh, um," Yuichiro scratched the back of his neck. " _ Could _ you ask them? Please?"

"No."

"Ehhhh how come?" he cocked his head to his shoulder. 

"Because it takes  _ time  _ you idiot. And the stars aren't even out!" Belial huffed, crossing his arms. "Honestly. People don't know the first thing about proper divination."

"The stars are always out, you just can't see them during the day," Shi drawled.

"Oh," Yuichiro nodded. "That makes sense." He didn't make it clear which of the statements he was responding to.

"When the time comes… if the answer is not revealed to us by then, I'll consult with the dark forces and pull the truth from the ether."

"Great." Shi said. "In the meantime, see if you can make your way to the town square."

Yuichiro nodded. "Yeah.. we're trying to meet everybody there if that's okay."

"I believe one soul's still lurking about this area." Belial put his finger to his lip thoughtfully. "You'd do well to dig them out, and show them the way."

Yuichiro looked around. "Huh...guess we'll have to find them.

"Wonderful" Shi sighed. "Now go Nakatani-san, the dark spirits await you in the town square."

"See you there!" Yuichiro waved. And then he looked around for wherever the other person was supposed to be.

He caught sight of some kind of movement from above the top of one of the merchant stalls across the way.

Shi started towards the movement, his footfalls even and careful... he practically drifted along the ground as he made a beeline right for the stall.

Something bobbed up over the stall but as Shi came around he saw a shortish person with a fluff of deep green hair shoved under a cap. They had a loose plaid shirt on over their uniform, and an old fishing pole with a bobber over their shoulder.

They turned toward Shi as he came forward. "Mm?"

Shi dipped into a little bow of greeting, and said. "You're another of the SHSL students, aren't you? I'm Masamune Shi. the Mortician."

"Hi." They nodded, making their hair fall in their eyes. 

Yuichiro peeked from around the corner. "Neeee, did you find someone?"

Shi nodded, gesturing to them with the back of his gloved hand. "yes. Though I'm not entirely sure who I found as of yet."

He raised his eyebrow. "What's your name?"

"Hmm? Watari Jun." They yawned and stretched.

Shi nodded...and then went suddenly rigid.

"Watari Jun...." He mouthed. "....don't I know you?"

Jun cocked their head. "I don't know. Do you?"

Shi's mouth went a little tight. "You may not remember me... I didn't wear dresses as often back then...never mind. It hardly matters for the moment." He nodded his head towards town square. "We're supposed to all meet in town square... to figure out why we're here."

"Oh. Town square? Should I head there then?" 

"Please. And be safe. It's probably all just a stunt the school's pulling, but...just in case."

Jun nodded. "Got it. See you there."

They started walking off.

Yuichiro turned to Shi. "So.... you said you knew them?"

"They remind me of someone I went to school with back when I was a kid." Shi said slowly "But I could be mistaken. My memories of that time are a little...scattered."

"Oh? You're okay, right?" he asked.

Shi was staring off into the distance, in the direction Jun had gone. He didn't answer for a moment before he shook his head and replied.

"I'm fine. Just...thinking of the past." He shrugged delicately. "Nothing to worry yourself with."

"Oh. Uh, alright," he nodded. "Sorry to pry."

Shi blinked a few times, before patting Yuichiro on the shoulder. 

"You didn't pry." He turned and walked back towards the pond in the center of the shopping district. "I'm alright. just caught in the grip of nostalgia and ...wistfulness, I suppose."

"Oooooh," Yuichiro nodded. "I get it. Childhood best friends?"

Shi laughed , his delicate hand covering his mouth. "Perhaps , in a fashion." He smiled wistfully "We were similar in a few ways. Both quiet. Both....skilled. If they're who I think, we...talked. Closest thing to a friend I believe I had."

Yuichiro nodded sagely. "Well then this is a great opportunity for you two to get back together. I'm sure they'll follow through on your marriage promise."

Shi's eyes widened....it was the first time he'd seen them outside of a half closed, almost bored look. Now he just looked shocked, and maybe a little horrified.

"....." He cleared his throat. "....we didn't have a marriage promise.I was....just trying to say....that I was an insufferable workaholic as a child....and they were the only person who talked to me." Shi spoke slowly, putting his hands together, and pointing them at him like he was an adult trying to explain something to a three year old.

"Oh... um. Well that sounds like a best friend to me. But I'm sorry if I misunderstood." He rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Does it?" Shi asked with a puzzled look. "I thought it was supposed to be a little deeper than that."

He started walking again. "Ano.. well kids aren't very deep I think. Most of the conversations I had when I was a kid were about pokemon."

"Pokemon. I suppose we never had time for such things in Hope's Peak Elementary." Shi murmured. "...anyway. I guess they were my best friend...but it seems they don't remember me. So...I must be mistaken."

"Maybe they just didn't recognize you?" he offered. "I'm sure you'll figure it out once we all get to know each other."

"I suppose I changed quite a bit since I was a child." Shi said, his eyes narrowing into that bored little stare once more. "Them, too."

"I guess that happens to people," Yuichiro agreed, a little sadly.

Shi looked at his hands quietly for a moment, before he nodded to Yuichiro.

"Sadly it does." He slowly began climbing the stairs up towards the Town Square and Yuichiro climbed with him just a step behind him with his long strides.

"Anyway I....." Shi's words were cut off with a sharp gasp.

"Ne?"


End file.
